Sep 9, 2026 · 35 min
Paula Cole reclaimed a hit by taking control of its recording
Paula Cole - I Don't Want to Wait
Cole’s account connects a pop song’s rise to grief, fractured collaborations, and the costly question of who controls an artist’s work.
- 1Cole wrote the song amid her grandfather’s impending death and a period of personal upheaval.
- 2A painful split pushed Cole to re-record This Fire herself, pursuing both artistic and financial control.
- 3The song became a major hit and the theme for Dawson’s Creek after Where Have All the Cowboys Gone? succeeded.
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Cole explains how re-recording the song served as both an artistic reclamation and a financial decision tied to ownership.
The brief
Paula Cole traces “I Don’t Want to Wait” to 1996, when touring, relationships, self-help, and her grandfather’s impending death shaped the song’s emotional charge.
An earlier version of This Fire took a polished direction Cole disliked, while a painful split with collaborators left her seeking permission to remake the album herself.
Working with engineer Roger Moutnot at New York’s Magic Shop, Cole turned self-production into both an artistic reclamation and a response to an unfavorable contract.
Cole clarifies that the stems heard here come from the re-recorded version, underscoring how the song’s sound is tied to her effort to regain control.
After “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” broke through, “I Don’t Want to Wait” became a single and the theme for Dawson’s Creek after Kevin Williamson approached Cole.